


Man in the Mirror

by redbeard1235



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arian is a son of Tregor, Back story behind the whole 'Mirror, Canon Divergence, Ewan survives!, I'm usually pretty thorough with my checks, M/M, Mirror on the wall, Multi, Should make the Catrina!arc interesting, a lot of new information, also it's Arthur's fault for the brass jokes, first Merlin fic, poor Arian., unbetad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 19:20:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2877461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbeard1235/pseuds/redbeard1235
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Canon Divergence!<br/>What if Catrina had a younger brother who escaped the Saxons? What if it was because he ended up trapped inside a magic mirror? Enter Arian Tregor, trapped on the flipside of Prince Arthur's armoire. They become fast friends, but what happens when Merlin discovers the lost prince? What if Arthur isn't ready for his friend to be free from the mirror?<br/>And most importantly, how much will destiny change when the world meets a man who's not supposed to exist?<br/>((There will be blood, tears, and merthur. There will most definitely be merthur.))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Whelp. This is a story I've decided to transfer from my old ff.net account. It's a little bit rough around the edges, but rest-assured I'll be fixing it up from two years ago. I've done my best to make this OC as interesting as possible. So if you enjoy diverse representation, hilarious insults, and a series of interesting plot tweaking, this is most definitely the story for you. PM me on tumblr as ghostbeard-1235 for any questions!! Hope you enjoy!!

** 19 Years Ago in the House of Tregor  **

 

"Prince Arian?"

The house maid continued to search for the missing prince; it was unsettling to think that the boy had gotten lost under her watch. What the King would do to her;she clasped hands around her neck at the thought. She couldn't flee to the enemy kingdom without going through Camelot and surely Uther would also-

The door to the closet creaked open and revealed a pale face surrounded by mouse brown hair, containing gemstone emerald eyes and a light blush coating the child's cheeks. He smiled and a tooth was missing from his front teeth, a sign that he was growing up fast.

"Catrina! I wanna play with Catrina!" the young boy called.

The maid sighed in relief, "Prince Arian, your father would not want you to disturb the Lady Catrina-"

"No! I wanna play with sister! Let me nana! Let me!" Arian huffed, "I order!"

The boy leaped out of the closet, a small wooden sword in his hand and royal gold robes around his lithe, but growing muscular frame. He was a sweet child, though a bit loud and stubborn. The boy's hands clenched as he pouted.

"I'm afraid I cannot sire."

Arian let out a howl in disappointment and anger before huffing, "I'm not 4 anymore! I'm 6! See!"

He put out one hand splayed out and kept only his thumb raised on the other to show the quantity of being six years old. The nursemaid chuckled and turned around to the dresser to set out some better clothes to play in outside.

"You are still young my lord...my lord?"

The young prince was nowhere in sight, his only trace being the slowly closing door. True to his name, Arian was like silver in how he shined.

"Oh dear." The maid fretted, "Oh no! No, no, no, no!"

\----------

Arian smirked and his green eyes twinkled with mischief as he poked his head around the corner. The vaults had always been a place of mystery for him, his father didn't like him coming down there. He had tried to scare him with stories of sorcerers and curses, but he knew better. He was six after all. Nothing could scare HIM, nothing could get past his father's knights anyway.

The dark shadows of the tunnels seemed to beckon him, almost like destiny was leading him here...at least that's what his mother would say. Whatever 'destiny' was, it sounded really big, and he didn't look forward to learning the definition either. The air tasted crisp with autumn, colder winds and more rain than sunlight.

It always passed over his small mouth and reminded him of his birthday feast only a month or two away. Maybe his father would get him another sword! Or his sister would get better. He never told anyone his birthday wish on his sister's recovery, his father said weaknesses were just as bad as magic, and from what Arian had seen magic was really bad.So he didn't want to get into trouble.

His skin felt moist with nervousness and adrenaline as he came closer. The two guards looked really big and tough and Arian wasn't sure they would listen to his 'I order', so he decided he'd have to be sneaky.

When the guards weren't looking Arian easily slipped past, he was still small enough to be able to squeeze through the bars of the biggest vault, the more hidden ones he would have explore once he was older and could have the keys. As he moved further down, the earthy tunnel darkened. Arian shook slightly with fear. Shadows always seemed scary-

"No! I'm a prince! Prince's don't get scared." He huffed to himself and walked determinedly, his head high up and his chest puffed out.

Soon though, he ran out of air and let his chest deflate. Dust smelled old, he decided. And as he edged towards the biggest vault a slight gleam caught his eye. He cocked his head curiously and padded towards the opposite chamber. It was the first time he'd ever seen such a large mirror, and Arian wondered why he hadn't noticed it before...oh, it was on the back side of a dresser.

Arian peeked through the bars curiously, it was so cool looking, usually furniture was the LAST thing to find interesting down there. The dresser was adorned with weird carvings on the sides of it, though he couldn't see them well in the dark. He reached through the bars to touch.

\----------

The invaders came out of nowhere. Nobody had expected the sudden onslaught of so many. Sentries had reported nothing out of the ordinary besides strange winds. They had used sorcery. It was the only explanation.

The king carried Catrina on his back, preparing for the quickly losing battle. He had no idea why the warning bells hadn't gone off yet. The king pushed through to Arian's chambers.

"ARIAN!" He paled when he was met with uncharacteristic silence.

"We figured you'd end up in here your highness." A voice cackled.

"FATHER!" Catrina wailed.

The king whipped out his sword, only barely managing to block the blow thrown at him. It didn't help though, they slowly became surrounded by other invaders and were slain.

The leader scoffed and stepped over the bodies, "Where's the boy?"

One of the men bowed his head, "Sorry my lord, we were unable to find him. He's missing."

"Well the way our dear friends here burst into the brat's room I doubt they knew either. Split up. Don't leave a single stone unturned."

\----------

Arian gasped when he heard the guards yell from a distance, that meant trouble. He struggled to get out of the bars. The young prince had climbed as best as he could, only managing to graze the wooden structure.

Hoping to push himself out of the squeezing grip, he used the mirror as leverage. Instead of falling backwards, he let out a cry of surprise as he was pulled forward towards the mirror. His hand...it had fallen through.

"EH?! NO! DADDY! DADDY!" He screamed, "HELP! SOMEONE!"

The mirror around his hand glowed and his body seemed to match the weird golden color. Magic! He trembled in terror as he felt a sudden weightlessness. The more the gold covered his body, the further he fell into the frame. Soon the only thing remaining of him was the left over tears on the floor.

\----------

"What do you mean the brat is gone?!" The leader bellowed, "I could hear his trap screaming half way across the castle!"

They were looting through the tunnels, the guards were easy to get rid of, the people on the other hand...if their young prince was still alive, they might be more inclined to rebel.

He growled and threw a large cloth over the dresser with the mirror on the flip-side. It would fetch a pretty price if he sold it to a wealthy family. He didn't hear the whimpers coming from inside as men carried it away.

\----------

"PEOPLE OF TREGOR! Today you no longer define yourselves as the Tregorians ; But as one of us! The Saxons! Watch as the bodies of the wealthy burn, knowing that today you shall deal with their tyranny no more!"

The people looked on solemnly as three caskets were carried towards the pyre. Two filled with the bodies to Catrina and the King, the last one filled with straw. Nobody knew that the son was gone, nobody felt any hope.

The frail queen-turned-hostage watched from the window of the tower, tears pouring from her eyes. "Oh my children...my beautiful children."She covered her face with her hands.

As the fallen kingdom mourned, the young prince heard all of it from the cart below, his body pressed against the mirror trapping him inside. He let out painful howls of despair that people assumed were from someone in the crowd. He lost his voice as they finally started hauling the carts away. His destination unknown.

\----- **Camelot** \-----

 The sun poured down to form a halo around the courtyard. Many merchants filled the open space, hoping to make good money from his highness King Uther Pendragon.

"It's been all over the world your majesty, look at the beautiful handiwork on the front. The cross-hatching is truly fine, the brass knobs are well kept-"

"Why is the back covered?" Uther interrupted as he circled the piece of furniture, he stopped at the bizarre fashion at how the entire backside of the dresser was covered with thick sheets of red velvet.

The seller shifted slightly in his stance before clearing his throat, "Merely so if it is jostled the dresser doesn't become damaged."

Uther circled it once more, before giving an appreciative look and nodding, "I'll be buying this. It shall be a fine complement to Arthur's quarters."

Uther waved forward a servant carrying a small chest with gold. "For the royal household, I shall offer a discount. 500 pieces less than the former price of 3,000. 2, 500 pieces, if his majesty would be so kind."

The merchant lied, the dresser was worth no more than 1,500 gold pieces, though if you were interested in magic items...it was worth far more.

Uther paid the specified amount, not sure whether that was truly a deal or a slight scam. If he found the dresser to be less than satisfactory...a certain merchant could end up in the dungeons for an evening or two.

"Now for a second opinion..." Uther turned to see his son play fighting with a young squire by the name of Leon if his memory served him correctly, "Nursemaid! Bring Arthur to me."

"Yes my lord."

The older woman nodded and gently pried the two children apart, taking the young prince over to his father. The blonde boy looked so akin to his mother that it almost pained Uther to see him smile jovially as he bound over, Leon staying behind and knowing his place.

'He'll be a good knight one day.' Uther thought as Arthur looked up at him curiously, his fluffy golden locks crowning his face.

"What do you think of this?" The King gestured to the large dresser. Arthur dropped his wooden sword and looked up at the large dresser with awesome eyes.

"It's really big!"

"Yes, and very heavy as well." Uther chuckled and patted his son's head.

Servants grunted in agreement as they started to haul it up the castle steps, slowly but surely moving. Nobody dared to complain on how they couldn't just use magic to move the bloody thing...servants rather liked having their heads still attached to their bodies.

\----------

The physican was one of those truly impacted by the ban at the close of the Great Purge, much of his healing having been accomplished by magics after all. But he carried on sufficiently all the same.

What worried him more was that he had no word from Balinor or Hunith, and a year had passed since the Slaying of the Dragonlords and the dragons themselves, sans Kilgarrah who was held captive beneath the castle.

Gaius sat alone in his workroom, studying a new herbal remedy that could have at least some of the near affects as his magical potion for poison. He heard a knock at the door and Arthur's nursemaid came in, carrying the boy in question.

She set the prince down on one of the stools, his eyes red and puffy from crying. Gaius sighed and walked over, with so many injuries it was no wonder his lucious blonde locks were beginning to thin with stress.

"What seems to be wrong?"

The nursemaid sighed, "My lord has fallen down again, it seems I can do nothing to stop him from playing so roughly."

"Is this true Arthur?" Gaius raised his eyebrow in an almost scolding manner and the young prince huffed and refused to answer. "Very well then, I guess I must ask your father if it is true or not and show him-"

"No!" Arthur pouted, "Father will be loud. I don't like it when father is loud."

Gaius clicked his tongue and started to gently clean Arthur's skinned knee, "He is loud because he is upset. As the only son your father has, it is your responsibility to keep yourself safe as well as your people safe. One day when your older you will understand that."

Arthur looked down with a bit of shame, Gaius had always been a second-father of sorts to the young prince. He wasn't like the other servants that were afraid to scold him lest Uther raise hell on them.

He had heard both Gaius and Uther get loud on more than one occasion, he'd seen the physican in the dungeons and the stocks plenty of times. But Uther always seemed more amused than truly upset with the physican seeing as the king usually let him out within a night or two.

"Gaius you really ought to get that balcony fixed or you could fall, my husband would be more than willing to-"

"Oh I'm fine." Gaius assured the nursemaid as she gestured to the rickety looking balcony along the top half of the room, "It's never let me fall before."

The blonde man gave a large grin and patted Arthur on his good knee, "There, all done, now go on I have more work to accomplish."

After the prince and his maid left Gaius took another look at the balcony...hm... "I doubt that it will become an issue."

Gaius waved it off and continued peering at a leaf through his magnifying glass.

\----------

"Sleep well my lord." The nursemaid bowed before closing the door behind her, she quickly locked it tight. She was allowed to lock it to keep bad people out, and to keep curious princes IN.

As soon as she left, Arthur grinned and leapt out of bed to look around his room. HIS room. It was a lot bigger than the room conjoined to the nursemaid's quarters and had a big bed too.

What caught his eye the most was the pretty dresser that was set off to the side of the room. The servants hadn't been able to completely move against the wall because of a bump in the floor boards.

Not that Arthur minded, he was really curious to see the other side of the dresser.

He squeezed himself into the space and tugged hard on the cloth covering the back side of the dresser. It would make a fun cape if he wanted to play 'evil-sorcerer' with Leon again. That was one of his favorite games.

His eyes bulged out of his tiny skull as he saw a boy, slightly older than himself staring back at him with an equal amount of surprise.

... "I'm Prince Arthur Pendragon." Arthur stated with a smile after a moment of staring.

The boy blinked and bowed his head in respect, the clothes he wore were slightly stretched his hair was very unruly and brown surrounding dark green eyes. His skin was slightly darker too, almost like one of those desert foreigners.

"I'm Prince Arian Tregor."

Arthur cocked his head and plopped down on the floor. The boy had a strange accent, some weird type of lisp he hadn't heard before. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. Arian looked like he was sitting right beside Arthur, the reflection of what was in front of the mirror stayed normal besides the little boy on the floor.

"Why are you in a mirror?" Arthur asked.

"Magic. I'm trapped." Arian frowned, "I was sneaking around in the vaults when I got sucked into the mirror."

Arthur blinked and reached out to the mirror, "I can't just pull you out?"

He tried and his hand wouldn't go through the mirror.

Arian sighed and brought his knees up to his chest. "Well at least you tried. Nobody has tried to get me out before." Arian blinked.

Arthur puffed up his chest, "It's my responsibility as a prince to help myself and my people...or so Gaius says to me."

"Gaius?"

"He's my father's pisican."

Arian smiled, "You mean, Physician?"

Arthur grinned, "Yep. He's my friend, but don't tell anyone that. Princes aren't supposed to be friends with servants. Leon is my friend too, but he always treats me like a Prince."

"I had a friend once, his name was Peter, my father arrested him and his family though because of their magic." Arian frowned.

"Your friend was an evil sorcerer?" Arthur blinked.

"Not evil! He was really nice." Arian huffed.

Arthur blinked for a moment before putting his hand on the mirror, "Do you think we could be friends too? It must be lonely in the mirror all by yourself."

Arian paused briefly before he nodded with a smile, and a bizarre friendship was born.

Many miles away, a rather tiny boy with black hair and beautiful blue eyes made a flower appear in his mother's hair as they cleaned up after supper.

\----- **Canon-era Camelot** \-----

"Then he said, 'I could take you apart with less than that!'" Arthur snorted with a scowl on his face.

He sat with the dresser set right so Arian could sit down on the table next to him...in the reflection at least. They both had grown a lot. Arian had out grown his child-clothing and the tattered cloth hung over his waist in a makeshift cover of sorts.

Arian didn't have any facial hair yet, but the hair on his head had gotten down to his waist and was akin to a sheep's pelt. The prince of Tregor didn't have to drink or eat, neither of the royals could really understand why and left all unexplainable to magic.

Arthur was used to the rugged appearance, and Arian had enough patience over the years to deal with Arthur. "And could he?"

Arthur scoffed, "Of course not, I fell in the end-"

"Did he hit you to do that?" Arian smirked, this Merlin kid sounded hilarious.

Arthur thought for a second before fuming, "No, but I still-"

"Ha. So he DID take you down with less than that. I'm impressed Arthur, really I am." Arian laughed and Arthur looked at him angrily.

"Shut up Arian."

"You'd have to ask the other side of the dresser Arthur. Mirrors don't shut up as well." Arian gestured to his mirrored self.

"Oh bug off." Arthur huffed.

Arian grinned before frowning slightly at tremors within the glass. The mirror always shook whenever something happened, usually dealing with magic. His thoughts traveled to the woman's threat yesterday after the death of her son...it reminded him of his mother.

"Did you find anything useful about what that woman could be planning?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow and put his feet on the table cockily, "Didn't know you were worrying about me Arian."

"I haven't got anything _better_ to do you _arse_. Fine. Did you hear anything about my mother?"

Arian pushed Arthur for as much information as possible, seeing as what the many manservants Arthur scared off had little to say besides 'what an arse' or 'I bet he's sleeping with her' and such. When people started to insult Arthur, Arian would pull what you could call a trump card of sorts.

He'd make weird sounds, scary voices, stomp his feet, some type of noise to scare them off. The rumors were said that the Prince's room was haunted by the dresser. Arthur obviously didn't believe it, knowing the ghost was actually a rather harmless person trapped in a mirror.

"I've heard nothing on my patrols, I'm sorry. We have heard of Saxons though. They've been causing some skirmishes in the north as of late. It would help to know where Tregor used to be, but father is too busy with the celebrations right now." Arthur stated before standing.

"Why don't you ask Gaius then?" Arian raised an eyebrow.

Arthur thought for a moment before frowning, why didn't he think of that?

"Good idea. The banquet to celebrate 20 years since the purge is tonight so that might be a good time to ask, I wish you could see but I suppose that's impossible." Arthur shrugged.

"As with every occasion." Arian sighed.

"Well, have fun doing...whatever it is you do when I'm not here."

"Yeah, thanks." Arian said sarcastically as Arthur turned the dresser back around to make his friend disappear, "Don't bring a maid back you pigeon."

"Just what I need is for you to refer to me as wild life." Arthur rolled his eyes and smirked before shaking the armoire.

"Hey! I can feel that you know!" Arian complained, "Just go already!"

"Fine." Arthur shrugged and left. Arian sighed and shook his head.

Arthur could be so ignorant at times, so kind at others, then a complete and utter asshole the rest of the time. How he ended up with him, Arian would never understand. To be honest with himself, Arian was more jealous of Arthur than anything.

He couldn't taste the delicious looking chicken that Arthur got to eat, drink water or wine, feel the sun on his skin or the wind in his hair. It was painful, not being able to feel.

When he was younger, Arthur was around ten and he around eleven or twelve if he could count the seasons right, Arian would still cry over this until Arthur said something stupid. 'No man is worth your tears.'

They had a huge fight, and Arthur actually refused to turn the dresser around so Arian could see out the window. He didn't cry so much now.

Most of his time was spent trying to find a way to get free, and to take his rightful place on the throne of his kingdom. He had a lot of free time to throw around after all... Arian could feel it.

It was his destiny to lead his people out of the Saxon's rule to a peaceful time. He could feel that peace in Camelot, at least for the time where there wasn't executions for sorcerers. He wanted this peace for his people, and Arthur had sworn to help him as much as he could.

Arian kept these thoughts close to his heart.

" _Hmm-hm-hm-hmm~_ "

Arian's ears twitched as he heard a distant singing, the mirror shook slightly and then it snapped in place in his head. It was the woman whose son was executed! That same tone of voice! Light footsteps clicked in the halls as the same humming continued. Arian stopped breathing as they got close to his chambers, well Arthur's chambers but he lived in there too.

They soon became distant and he let out a sigh of relief. He had to warn Arthur... Arian looked forward with determination before he slammed himself against the glass.

"C'mon! C'm _on_!"

He saw the golden glow and his body started to slip through before it pushed him back, it wasn't the first time he'd tried this.

"I'm so useless!" Arian slammed his fists on the mirror again before sliding back down.

He knew how to fight, he knew the best strategies from the books Arthur sometimes left on the floor for him to read through, he knew every single inch of the lands-Camelot and otherwise, minus the territory that was his home.

He wondered if the people would hate him for his weakness. His fragility inside the mirror of Prince Arthur and not fighting the world to get his people the peace they so deserved.

Arian knew that Arthur understood that at times and tried to find nonmagical books from Geoffrey to help him in his predicament, but most of the time however the younger prince had his own problems to deal with.

"Somebody help Arthur...and someone help me."

The prince sat there waiting another night for help that would never come.

A/N: So please tell me what you think! I know there wasn't any Merlin in this one, but there will be in the next one. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally getting some Merlin in here! (Not nearly as much as the next chapter though) he'll meet Arian soon!! Promise!! This chapter begins the whole debacle with Valiant (and a twist ending that brings me joy!!)   
> I'd love to hear feedback! (Here or on my tumblr ghostbeard-1235)

"Noooooo..."

Arthur sat exasperated with his head on the table with a groan. He suddenly pushed back the chair and moved to his bed before plopping down and letting out an almost mournful howl. This was great...just great...

"Sorry Arthur but I don't speak whine. A bit of sarcasm and that's about it." Arian called out from the mirror, irritated but relieved that he didn't need to fret knowing that Arthur was back again...and safe.

Physically, not mentally. He doubted that Arthur would ever stop being an insane idiot at times.

"That Merlin...what an IDIOT!"

Arian heard a slam and sighed as he heard a tray roll away. Really Arthur had more tantrums than any four year olds Arian ever heard of...from servant's ramblings anyway.

"And why is he an idiot?" Arian asked curiously.

His eyes widened and suddenly the entire armoire was precariously spun around. Arthur was slightly pale, but more irritated than anything. Now that they were facing each other Arthur calmed down some and started to pace instead of going on a rampage throughout the room.

Some weird power had been echoing for a while now. Like gentle waves, but now they were stilled like a pond. Perhaps Arthur's distress had something to do with that.

"The woman...the mother of that sorcerer, she was disguised as the Lady Helen the entire time! Then when she was singing we all sort of fell asleep!"

"Wow, nice appreciation of the arts Arthur, really I feel your passion." Arian rolled his eyes, but catching Arthur's pissed off glance the older Tregorian royal backed off.

"Anyway," Arthur continued pacing, "Suddenly I woke up, and the witch was on the floor! The chandelier right on top of her! I figured she was dead-"

"If you figured that then I'm guessing she wasn't dead." Arian mused.

Arthur ignored his comment, "-then she suddenly gets up and throws the dagger at my head! It was so fast, I didn't notice until it was too late-almost. That idiot pulled me aside in the breath of time! A second later and I'd be dead!"

Arian's eyes widened, "He saved your life..."

"-That idiot! Then my father said he needed a reward. I figured fine, go ahead, a piece of gold or two, a day off, something actually USEFUL. No! The idiot goes off and becomes my manservant!"

Arthur's rant seemed to end at that minus some incomprehensible mutterings and Arian sighed before knocking against the mirror, the clinking sound making Arthur look back to him.

"So let me get this straight, the bloke saves your life...and you call him an idiot and blame him for Uther appointing him a position in the royal household?" Arian raised an eyebrow, "Seems like he deserves your thanks instead of your malice Arthur."

Arthur sighed, "No Arian, you don't get it. How can I trust him after what he pulled in the market? During practice? He'll be in HERE. In my room, less than ten feet from you and the git is as clumsy as one of those goats being herded through the citadel-"

"That's exactly why I think you should trust him Arthur." Arian interrupted before it turned into an annoying rant again.

Arthur scoffed, "You think? As in using a brain? I'm amazed."

"Oh shut it. Maybe you can trust this bloke, because anything he has to say...he will undoubtedly say it to your face. He won't sneak behind your back, he'll strike you head on. In fact...I'll make a bet with you." Arian smiled.

Arthur almost laughed, "How do you plan to do that? What could you possibly put on the table?"

"If I lose this bet, I'll scare the crap out of this Merlin fellow for you so you can move onto the next servant."

"That's hardly a good deal for me. What are we even betting for anyway?" Arthur snorted before sitting down at the table again.

Arian smirked before leaning back confidently, his brown hair falling in front of his eyes slightly to cover the green mischievous glint in them.

"I bet that this Merlin will last the entire week. I also have an additional bet that he will have every single chore you give him accomplished the day after tomorrow." Arian stated, "That's it."

Arthur thought for a moment before grinning, "Fine. If I lose I'll act like a chicken."

Arian snorted, "What are you three?"

"Hey! You always laugh when I do that!" Arthur crossed his arms lightly.

Arian tried not to laugh at the mere mention, "As amusing as it is, this is a serious bet Arthur, if you lose...I want you to trust him."

"Arian-"

"Just give him a chance. One chance...that is if you lose." Arian smirked, "You already giving up so quickly Pendragon?"

Arthur thought for a moment before smirking back, "Not a chance Tregor. I'll win this bet-but then when YOU lose you'll be the one dancing. He'll have the most impossible list of chores to accomplish in one sitting that I couldn't lose!"

Arian felt the waves of magic through the mirror and he leaned back and relaxed as the deal was struck and Arthur thought of some chores for Merlin to do that wouldn't involve much time spent near the armoire.

\---------

"You're braver than you look. Most servants collapse after the first blow." Arthur commented amusedly.

Merlin was truly worse for the wear, usually Arthur wouldn't be so harsh, but seeing as his pride was on the line Merlin would have to endure...or not. Arthur was actually hoping for not.

"Is it over?" The younger boy groaned.

Merlin was a very stick-like man, his ears were bizarrely large as well, though his skin was so pale that Merlin almost looked ethereal...a bit like a fae creature if Arthur truly believed in Gaius's old stories. He was lean, though a better word would be scrawny and he had slightly messed black hair and piercing blue eyes. The kind of man that had more bark than bite. Arthur was trying hard not to find the good things about his new manservant, like his ability to ask questions without saying please, his bravery to insult the prince without care, and the strength to withstand his...how did Arian put it? Ah yes, it was hard not to admire the strength to withstand his pompous ass.

Arthur smirked and stepped forward, "That was just a warmup. How's your mace work coming along?"

\----------

"Hah...that was refreshing." Arthur smiled as he walked into his bedroom, surprised to find it clean.

The list of duties had finally been completed, some of the more ridiculous ones having been squashed out by Arian's half-hearted whining. Merlin should be grateful that Arthur didn't have him out catching frogs at two in the morning. Really it had been a rather enlightening day. Arthur was just beginning to realize how much of an amusement the manservant was to have around.

"How'd it go?" Arian asked from across the room.

"...he did have them all completed." Arthur grumbled.

"Ha! I knew it!" Arian grinned, "I win this bet you pigeon-toed frog prince!"

"What is with you and your wildlife insults?" Arthur snapped back.

Arian flipped over and gave a slight grunt as he became upside down with one hand holding his weight. Arthur shook his head, "What ARE you doing?"

Arian rolled his eyes, "I haven't much else to do now do I? The stronger I get, the more power I can use to break through the mirror. Speaking of which, have you talked to Gaius?"

Arthur waved it off, "I've been too busy with Merlin as of late. I'll get to it."

Arian bristled with irritation, "You said that yesterday Arthur. You don't seem to get the urgency! My people are out there suffering and I can't move, you're the only one who knows about me and therefore the only one who can help me!"

"What do you want me to do? Go waltz up to the King and say, 'Say father, might I go find magic books because my friend that I've kept a secret for a long while now is trapped by magic'? He'd break you apart and chop you into kindling." Arthur snapped.

"It'd be better than just sitting here not knowing when I'll get out!" Arian retorted.

Arthur growled and stomped to the door, "Do yourself a favor Arian and try to come to terms with the fact that you might NEVER get out of that mirror."

Arian felt like he'd been smacked and instantly Arthur felt guilt wash over him, he hadn't meant to...it was just that...

"Arian, I didn't mean-"

"Just go Arthur, you have better things to do that listen to my troubles. Go practice with your knights for that stupid tournament you got going for you. I'll be right where you left me. Like always." Arian muttered coldly as he turned around, letting his back face Arthur.

The Pendragon Prince looked down shamefully before walking back over to the table and opening a book out onto the floor.

"Well...I'll be back. I'm sor-"

"Save it."

Arthur looked taken aback then Arian sighed before turning around with a weak smile, "Go on, you've seriously gotta practice if you don't want those other guys to beat you out there."

"Little faith in me then?" Arthur let his lips curl up as he was slowly forgiven.

"You have to set me up by the window on tournament day so I can watch them serve your ass on a silver platter." Arian laughed, "Joking. You'll do great."

Arthur sighed in relief, "Thanks. I'll return later."

"You always do." Arian stated, and with a nod Arthur turned him so he could see out the window and left the open book on the sill before leaving.

Arian sighed and returned to working out. He really didn't have anything to do...well, what he did have to do he couldn't do.

He stared down the thin transparent layer separating him from the real world, from his kingdom, his people...

"Grah!" Arian let out a low growl as he hit the mirror again, it forced him back, but unlike a few years earlier it actually cracked for a moment and he actually could manage to stand the force of the rebound.

He would break through. He had to. No magic could stop him...but now he wished that magic could help him instead.

His thoughts often drifted back to Peter at times like these. Arian remembered his friend well, always willing to run away with him on new and perilous adventures. Sometimes dangerous, but somehow every time Peter was around things managed to turn out okay. Sometimes they'd be getting chased by men trying to grab at him and suddenly he would go unconscious and then he'd wake up with Peter smiling over him.

Peter had been a squire 4 years older than he, a really good one too, he often talked about rescuing people from meanies and making sure everyone in Tregor was safe. Arian had been so foolish not to notice the gold glow in his friend's eye, so foolish to acknowledge the strange happenings with his nursemaid who then told his father, he was so foolish that he'd gotten his best friend killed.

Perhaps this mirror was fortune's way of turning on him for what he'd done. If that were true then Arian would be more than happy to serve out his sentence after his people gained the peace they deserved.

He shook his head twice to focus before continuing his many presses and pushes. Hoping that somehow he'd make it through.

\-----------

Idiot. He was such an idiot. No, not his manservant-though he was putting on the armor TERRIBLY slow-but this time it was he who was the idiot. How could he have said something like that to Arian? Sure they've had falling outs before and Arthur had always thought along the lines of the hurtful words he'd shouted, but he'd never actually said it.

He knew how important his people were to Arian, the people now claimed by the Saxons. Hell, how was he supposed to concentrate when for all he knew Arian was up there crying again.

Arthur remembered hearing the mournful sounds of Arian's cries in the middle of the night, he howled in his sleep crying for his father until one night Arthur snapped and said the same thing his father said to him when one of their knights died to protect him from an intruder.

'No man is worth your tears.'

And what he had said moments ago was even worse, he'd practically told his friend to give up hope of ever leaving Camelot, of ever seeing his mother again...and why was Merlin taking so long?!

"You do know the tournament starts today?" Arthur seethed.

"Yes sire." Merlin drawled.

Arthur grit his teeth, usually he would admittedly enjoy such banter with someone because it kept him on his toes, but at this moment and after what had happened with Arian, the prince wasn't in the best of moods.

"You nervous?"

"I don't get nervous." Arthur stated snappily as Merlin did the final touches. He stopped at that statement and just had to get cocky.

"Really? I thought everyone got nervous."

"Would you shut up!" Arthur snapped.

Merlin flinched slightly and Arthur felt a twinge of guilt for a brief moment before he tied the red cape around Arthur's neck and hands Arthur his helmet.

"Great, yeah. I think you're all set."

Arthur looked down before finding it extremely difficult to resist face-palming before turning to Merlin.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Arthur waited as Merlin looked him over in disbelief. The prince rolled his eyes in exasperation, "My SWORD!"

Merlin fumbled for a moment, "Oh right, uh, I guess you'll be needing that."

He handed over Arthur's sword, which the prince took roughly in his hands and stomped off towards the arena.

Merlin sighed, "Well THAT went well."

\------------

"Poor fellow, he doesn't seem to have much luck-hello...what is this?"

Arian pressed his face against the mirror as he watched Uther give the pre-tournament speech. That shield by the yellow knight...it was giving off a terrible load of waves.

"Shit. Arthur."

Why the hell the only son of Uther was having so much magical mayhem thrown his way Arian would never know. Ever since that Merlin fellow showed up a few days ago the entire armoire had been shaking with the presence of magic...

He only hoped that if Merlin did have magic, the idiot wouldn't let Arthur find out. Plus there had been annoying growling of the lad's name the past few nights from somewhere beneath his feet. Kept him up half the night.

He knew he should be more worried for Arthur's safety, but Merlin's presence didn't feel threatening...actually, it felt rather safe and more defensive than anything. Pure would be a good word to describe it, though misguided.

'But who the hell am I of all people to judge what is true and what isn't?' Arian snorted, 'I'm the man in the bloody mirror.'

He heard the crowd roar and looked back down. Sure enough (though it was a bit difficult to see much) Arthur was battling out the first round.

Their swords clashed back and forth, gleaming in the sun and sparking like stars falling to the earth. He heard Morgana and Gwen cheering him on along with the rest of Camelot...

Morgana. Sometimes he wondered if she remembered seeing him that one time she came to the castle and decided to explore Arthur's chambers for anything fun to play with.

It was a brief meeting and Arian hadn't spoken, hadn't moved a muscle, to anyone he was just a brilliantly good but bizarre painting. Though Morgana had cocked her head and looked at him...really LOOKED at him.

Then she was gone, seemingly uninterested, though she said nothing to Arthur or anyone about the sight since he was still in the mirror.

Suddenly the roaring was even louder and without truly looking he knew Arthur had won this round. Arian knew that these tournaments were a big deal for Arthur, it gave him a chance to prove his worth to Uther.

He watched closely as the one named Valiant fought along with the other knights. That man's shield was still giving off bad vibes.

Then it was over. Tomorrow would be the semi-finals and then the next day would be the final game between the two people with the most wins.

He sighed as he watched the crowds filter away, then suddenly Arthur's eyes were searching until they landed on the window he was in and gave a weak smile.

Oh...no doubt Arthur felt bad about the entire ordeal earlier. If the pigeon thought he was crying like the old days then as soon as he was freed from this mirror he'd knock the prince down a few notches.

He saw Valiant approach and address Arthur. The knight seemed cordial enough, and very fitting to his name as well.

As soon as he walked away he had to chuckle at the sight of both Merlin and Arthur snorting and sneering at the knight's back. Merlin muttered something that Arian couldn't catch.

Arthur obviously tried hard not to smile at whatever the statement was and then he listed off another long list of chores by the indignant look on the manservant's face.

"Better close your mouth Merlin or flies might fly in." Arian laughed before sighing and looking out at the landscape.

He could feel a storm brewing. Not literally, but it felt like this entire puzzle of his life was finally finding the missing pieces and putting them together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin meets Arian! Live and in person...well, sort of...as close as you can get when you are trapped in a reflective surface. A friendship is born!

Arthur was trying to squash the green monster so to speak as he watched Valiant walk away from Morgana. What a creep! And such a vulgar display of affection for someone who was like a sister to him, in front of his father no less!

'Oh there she stares smiling off at him. Like he's a greater warrior or something. Pompous git!' Arthur thought with a scowl as he walked over to Morgana.

She smiled affectionately towards Valiant, "They all seem rather impressed by Knight Valiant."

"Well they're not the only ones." He almost seethed.

Arthur looked over and saw all of the other knights conversing with the beast and smiling. Traitors. Arthur wondered briefly what Arian would think of all this.

'Probably smack me upside the head if he could.' Arthur snorted.

Morgana looked at him curiously before chuckling, "You're not jealous are you?"

"I don't see anything to be jealous of." Arthur sniffed and walked off.

He saw Merlin in the corner doing nothing. Well then...he smirked, what kind of prince would he be if he allowed his manservant to become lazy?

"Merlin, isn't there something you should be doing?" Arthur called to him.

Merlin looked up and visibly sighed, rolling his eyes as he pushed off from the wall and approached Arthur, "I don't know, is there an additional ridiculous chore from your never ending list you forgot to mention sire?"

He hated when Arian was right about something, like how honest Merlin was. Arthur snorted, "Yes as a a matter of fact. Go polish all of the brass in my chambers."

Arthur stated this with a grin and Merlin gave a mutter of , "Ridiculous."

"I want to see my reflection in that brass Merlin!" Arthur called with a grin as he walked away.

George, another servant, just happened to overhear. The king liked brass? How bizarre. But maybe if he educated himself in the ways of brass then the prince would like him more.

Surely the texts had some good jokes about brass...

\------------

"That guy is just such a prat!" Merlin growled as he entered the prince's chambers with a cloth and a bit of oil to polish with, "That dragon thinks that it's my destiny to change that? No magic on earth could change that!"

Arian froze near the window as he heard Merlin's angry footsteps. Why was he in here? Arthur hadn't said anything about this...

He calmed down. As long as he remained silent Merlin wouldn't notice the weird placement of the dresser.

"I mean, really, polish the brass? He could've come up with a better excuse to annoy me." Merlin grumbled to nobody.

It was still daytime, though slowly the sun was setting beyond the horizon. Arian was a bit worried about Arthur...what would he do against Valiant? What would that knight try to pull...and would it work on an ignorant bird like Arthur?

"Wait...was the dresser always there?"

Arian's thoughts immediately turned back to the situation as he heard the footsteps move closer. Not only that, but there was this terrible overwhelming feeling and power coming wave after wave, it got stronger as the boy approached and Arian found he couldn't relax.

Blood ponded through his skull as pressure descended upon the entire mirror. It seemed to shake his very being. Gripping claws of power were pulling him forward toward the edge of the mirror. Something was calling to the mirror, making it seem to move like flies to honey.

"That prat must've deliberately moved it to make more work for me. I don't get it, what's the point?"

He felt the mirror being moved and then he could see a fraction of a white hand on the frame. The fingers traced the bizarre engravings along the side of the mirror's frame. Merlin turned the mirror around and Arian immediately stilled, though the powerful waves of magic still managed to make him twitch.

Merlin blinked at him curiously before shaking his head, "What a bizarre painting, though amazingly well drawn I must say. Looks almost alive."

He focused on the lettering again and Arian watched with bated breath. Maybe...just maybe this was his chance!

"This language...I've seen it somewhere before...'If you dare to'-"

"You can read it?!" Arian blurted and stood upright, his hands on the mirror.

"GAH!" Merlin fell backwards and into the wall, his eyes wide as he looked at Arian with obvious surprise and a bit of fright, "What in the name of-"

"You, can you read this?! Understand this?!" Arian looked to his left at the strange lettering and then back at Merlin, "Tell me what it says!"

Merlin was frightfully pale, "Y-You're not a painting..."

Arian's excited grin dropped as he saw Merlin's shock. He was...afraid of him. The only chance Arian ever had and it was gone at the split second hope filled him. No doubt the boy would run and tell Uther...he'd never see his people. 

With a sad smile he turned back to Merlin, "I...I guess not. To think that this is all my life would amount to. And I call Arthur pigeon-brained. Living in a mirror only to be destroyed because I actually moved and spoke to someone about-"

"W-Wait...I'm not, I mean...I won't tell. I'm sorry, this is just...a lot to take in." Merlin grasped his head and tried to wrap his head around the fact that Arthur had a dresser in his room with a man inside of it.

Arian's gaze snapped from the ground back up to Merlin in surprise, shock, disbelief, until finally resting on gratitude. Merlin gave the man a once over. He couldn't be that much older than Arthur, four or five years at the most. His hair was ragged and went down to his waist, his skin was tan like one of the desert migrators he'd seen on the outskirts of Ealdor, his green eyes were honest and terribly kind...there were child's clothes draped over the man's waist. He was thin at the waist, but had more toned muscles than any knight he'd ever seen. There were remnants of scars on the man's body, almost like he'd been scratched. Merlin calmed down as he realized that this was nothing more than a man. Just a man caught in a strange predicament.

Merlin moved back up from the floor and stood, albeit shaking, in front of the mirror.

"What--sorry, I mean, WHO are you?"

"It's been a while since I've had to introduce myself. I'm Prince Arian Tregor, the last remaining heir to the House of Tregor." Arian smiled as he said his name.

It felt almost foreign on his tongue after so long without saying it. The last time he'd introduced himself aloud probably would be when he met Arthur...

"You're a prince?" Merlin blinked in surprise.

"What? I don't look the part?" Arian snorted in sarcastic surprise.

"I guess I never expected you to be...well, I guess I didn't expect you at all actually. Does Arthur know-?" Merlin's eyes widened.

"Yes." Arian cut him off, "But he can't know that you know. He has enough problems to deal with without worrying about you running your mouth off to Uther."

"I guess..." Merlin blinked, the man had a weird accent too, though it was hard to tell since Camelot's own accent was leaking through, "How long-?"

"Too long. Since I was six, the dresser was sold to Uther when Arthur was five and I was...seven? Yes, I think so. I'm surprised you didn't run off." Arian blinked at Merlin.

"Well, I've had a busy week..." Merlin stated with a slight awe to his voice, "Not much could surprise me now I suppose."

He hesitantly reached out and touched the mirror. Arian instantly flinched and covered his head, "Back off! Off of the mirror now!"

Merlin jumped away and the man seemed to relax more. He looked to his hands with furrowed eyebrows, "What did I do?"

"Gods...it felt like I was being squashed into a hole the size of a needle head...you're waves are just...overwhelming." Arian groaned and clutched his head before sighing, "Okay okay, turn me."

Merlin hesitated as he warily stepped closer again and gripped the edges, careful not to touch the mirror. Arian seemed more tense as Merlin finally was able to move him around to face the rest of the room.

"Now three BIG steps back."

"What? Why do I-?"

"Excuse me, last time I checked I was the royal in this little situation. Come on, three BIG steps back." Arian tried not to smirk at the insulted expression on the manservant's face.

Merlin glared but took three steps back. Arian snorted and relaxed further until he was able to lean away from the surface of the mirror with a smile.

"Wow Marlin, really didn't think you'd listen. Power isn't something I'm used to having."

"It's Merlin, not Marlin. Now explain everything or I'll just leave you here for the next maid to find." Merlin snapped.

Arian crossed his arms with a devilish grin, "Then I'll just tell them you're actually a great and powerful sorcerer and used a spell to trap me in here."

Merlin froze and glared evenly at him, "Or I could just smash the mirror and say it was an accident."

"Ah, you forget that Arthur and I are rather well acquainted. Besides these threats are getting us nowhere. I know you have magic Merlin." Arian smiled wider, this was too much fun.

Merlin froze before sighing, "How did you know?"

"I didn't. I guessed." Arian smirked even more and he could practically see the steam coming from Merlin's ears, "How Arthur hasn't realized it I'll never know, you practically put yourself out in the open...though I suppose he IS a pigeon, so I've learned to forgive his small brain. But seriously, you need to keep on the down-low."

"Wait, no-I am, but-" Merlin stumbled over which thing he wanted to say and Arian patiently waited until the sorcerer decided on a phrase.

Merlin almost growled, "Okay, answer my previous question."

"I don't know HOW exactly, but I can feel waves of power. Every time magic gets within...hm, I've never been able to test my range, but I know when magical happenings, heh, HAPPEN in Camelot. And you...you are the most powerful thing giving off waves I think I've ever had the good pleasure of feeling. The closer you got to the mirror the more I was bombarded with waves. Understand?"

"Not...quite exactly. How did you get inside the mirror?" Merlin asked, now completely fascinated.

"Merlin?"

Both men flinched as they heard Arthur's voice from the door. They shared a glance and Arian gestured to quickly move him back.

"Merlin is that you?" Arthur sounded slightly irritated as his footsteps neared.

"Hurry up you fish head!" Arian ordered beneath his breath.

Merlin stopped and gave Arian an incredulous look, "Fish head?"

"You said it last not me, now go!" Arian demanded as Arthur walked into the main area of his chambers.

Merlin stood at attention, cloth behind his back. Arthur gave him a once over before striding up to Merlin, "What do you have behind your back?"

"Nothing sire." Merlin stated.

Arthur gave Merlin a look saying, 'Do you think I'm stupid?' before taking Merlin's arms and looking at them from every angle. Satisfied he took the rag from Merlin's grasp and tossed it in his face. Arthur walked up to the dresser and inspected it before turning back to his manservant.

"Go, my armor still needs its own polishing."

Merlin gave a nod as he walked off towards the armory. He knew that he would have to talk to Arian again, if he could sense even low levels of magic...it would likely be easier to accomplish his 'destiny' with Arthur (and a lot less frustrating than talking to the bloody dragon). 

\----------

"Okay so...what's a prat and how does it pertain to you exactly?" Arian asked curiously after Arthur had turned him around.

"I honestly have no idea. I'm sure it's some ugly village pun or other nonsense like that." Arthur sighed as he plopped down onto his bed, "Anyway, I won all of my rounds in the tournament today, not that I had any doubt, but-"

Arian didn't know how hard it would going to be to not tell Arthur something. They usually shared everything with each other...but...

Arian moved his gaze back to Arthur's exhausted posture as the Prince of Camelot boasted and he silently made a decision. Arthur really did have his own problems without Arian forcing his own upon him, he could keep this one secret from Arthur, then with Merlin's help break free and do all of the research about Tregor himself. Not to mention Arthur already knew he had been training to escape, so it would only be a mild surprise if he were actually able to accomplish it, or at least he wouldn't ask too many questions.

"-then that creep of a Knight sucked up to Morgana like a snake-"

"Are you referring to Valiant?" Arain immediately snapped back into the conversation.

"Yes, I just said that three minutes ago. Were you even listening Arian?" Arthur growled lightly.

Arian shrugged, hiding his feelings of guilt with an air of apathy , "Doesn't matter. Past is in the past, say, did anything seem...weird about him?"

Arthur sat up and raised an eyebrow, "Besides being a plonker? Nothing really. No need to be suspicious of anything."

"I felt...okay, I know you think it's ridiculous, but I felt waves coming from his shield Arthur. Try and be careful okay?" Arian warned, fidgeting with the shreds of his gold tunic.

"Stop being such a mother hen Arian, you feel waves all the time. If I ran my sword through everything you felt a wave from then by the end of the day there'd be hardly anything left!" Arthur laughed with a stretch, before standing up, "I'd like to stay for a bit longer, but my father requested that I dine with him this evening."

"I'm serious Arthur." Arian called as the blonde walked away with a wave of his hand.

"Arthur!"

The door closed and Arian sighed. It was times like this he remembered that Arthur was younger than he was, though they did grow up together and Arthur had seen more, Arian still interpreted things in a different light then his friend.

For instance, though Arthur didn't know it, magic was something they disagreed on. Arian was still slightly frightened of the practice, but as the years started to drag on and Arian started to wonder if magic would get him out of this...and then there was Peter...

Sometimes when he fell into a dreamless sleep he expected to see Peter crouching over him with a familiar smile when he woke, telling him that everything was fine. That he was safe as long as he was there.

Arian didn't feel safe anymore...

\-----------

"Hello?" Merlin looked up from searching for Arthur's armor, "Is there someone there?"

The armory was always freezing, it was to be expected as the window from above had no glass and allowed all of the chills to come in. Even in summer it was cool and a great refuge for knights after a long day of training. However all of the weapons cast shadows. As those shadows grew darker with each passing hour your mind would play tricks on you.

Merlin could've sworn he'd heard something. A shallow hiss that seemed to echo off the stone walls and bounce back to him. Looking around he spotted Valiant's shield.

It seemed to be drawing him in and pushing him back at the same time as he moved closer. Merlin gasped as one of the snake's eyes blinked back at him. He took a shaky breath and moved to touch it before cold metal was shoved against his chest. Merlin holds his breath as he slowly follows the sword tip at his throat until he's standing up.

"Can I help you with something boy?" Valiant spat.

Merlin fumbled before his eyes rested on the armor he'd been looking for then back at Valiant, "Nope. I'm good. I, I was just...I was, erm, gathering my master's armour."

The knight gave a very disbelieving smile before letting the sword drop, Merlin immediately relaxed some.

"Then you'd best be on your way." 

"Right, yeah, no problem." Merlin laughed with a slightly cracked voice as he grabbed the armor and bolted.

Merlin had seen that shield blink at him, he was almost sure of it. He needed that mirror to reaffirm that he was right and then figure out a way to stop it...he had to get to that mirror.

\-----Next Morning-----

Merlin laid out all of Arthur's armor as the Prince came in to see how his manservant had handled the load. Arthur blinked in surprise at the shining armor set out almost perfectly on the table. Shaking it off he chuckled and tightened the gambeson around himself, "You did this all on your own?"

"Yes sire." Merlin answered immediately, darting glances towards the dresser that had once again been moved to face the outside.

"Hm. Now let's see you get me into it without forgetting anything." Arthur challenged.

Merlin put on Arthur's hauberk and surcoat, followed by the gorget, vambraces, pauldron, and couter. Next, his mail coif, belt, sword belt, dagger, and sword. Merlin handed Arthur his helmet with a triumphant grin at how fast his work was done.

"That was much better. Not that it could have got any worse." Arthur half complimented, which for Arthur was about as close to a real compliment as you could get.

"I'm a fast learner." Merlin boasted lightly.

"I hope, for you sake, that's true." Arthur snorted and shared a look with Merlin.

He didn't know how Arian could read someone he'd never met so well. The honesty in Merlin's gaze was something he wasn't accustomed to, neither was the ability to deal with a Pendragon Prince. He could see pride in Merlin's gaze, and a fiery sense of duty that was hard to find in someone so quick with his tongue.

"Good luck." Merlin stated.

Arthur gave a slight nod, happy with knowing that the encouraging words were truly well accepted as he left to the arena.

\-----------

As soon as Arthur left Merlin snapped his gaze to the mirror. Grabbing the armoire he turned it around (a bit faster than yesterday). Now that he knew where to grip, turning Arthur's furniture was easy.

"You, in the armory last night there's a shield, did you feel any-" Merlin immediately began.

Arian hold up a hand, "Keep your cows in their stables Marlin! You haven't milked them yet!"

"It's Merlin. What kind of metaphor is that? And this isn't a game-"

"My name is Arian. Prince Arian, technically Crown Prince of Tregor though I haven't been sworn in yet. Apparently you forgot that a few moments ago." Arian leveled Merlin with an even glare. Lord was it fun to mess with someone who wasn't Arthur.

Merlin seemed taken aback before sighing, "Yes, sire, my apologies."

"Accepted. Thank you Merlin, but don't call me sire. Just Arian is fine." Arian grinned, content with himself, "NOW go ahead and ask...after you take three BIG steps back again."

Merlin rolled his eyes and gave him a scowl before giving an irritated and sassy grin as he took three loud steps backwards. Arian couldn't resist.

"Ah, a bit too far. One step closer then." Arian felt elated and humored with Merlin around.

Merlin scowled before breathing heavily through his nose and taking one step forward. He gestured to the space between them in exasperation, daring Arian to tell him to move again.

"Thank you Merlin." The prince preened. 

"Now...I'd like some answers."

Arian was silent for a moment before waving towards the chair. Merlin sat down in Arthur's usual spot.

"I had wanted to scare my nursemaid so I was hiding in my room's closet waiting for her to come in. I jumped out at her and laughed before demanding that I see my sister Catrina..." Arian's emerald eyes became downcast with memories, "Catrina, she was always sick. It was hard for her to move at times, let alone play with me. When my nursemaid said I couldn't play with her I ran off and snuck down into the vaults. I saw this mirror and the strange lettering and got curious."

He shook his head at the idiocy leading to his predicament, "That's when...the invaders attacked. I heard the guards fighting at the entrance of the vaults and tried to use the mirror as leverage to get out of the bars...it started to glow a strange gold color, my body felt weightless as I was sucked into the mirror. My body was shining, like honey in moonlight..."

Merlin blinked in interest at the tale, it all seemed so unreal. Arian shivered. 

"It was colder than anything I'd ever felt, as if I'd swallowed icicles. I felt like I was being dissected and put back together over and over again; a thousand pieces being broken and rearranged. It was like the mirror was changing my body down to the blood in my heart and the breath in my chest. I still don't know if my appearance changed or if it just felt like it did--I can't remember what I look like anymore." The prince laughed humorlessly and Merlin's heart grew tight with sympathy.

"Next thing I knew, I was being carried away, a sheet covering me and the only sight I had to the outside world. Then I saw it...my father's and my sister's bodies burned. My mother held captive by the Saxon leader for whom I still have no name. Her deafening wails...my peoples' cries echoing into the flames...watching the smoke from corpses and realizing I couldn't smell it...yet the worst thing despite all that, is the fact my people were left with a tyrant..."

Merlin remained silent and a bit fidgety, "I'm sorry..."

Arian seemed to snap back to reality, as if he'd been visiting with ghosts, "It's hardly your fault, Merlin. All I want to do now is get out of this cage...my people need me. It's my destiny...something I think you understand at least a little bit." 

Arian stood back up and put his hands on the mirror, the shredded cloth on his body making him appear like a desperate caveman, "I need your help. Arthur has his own problems with being a prince himself...in return for your help as soon as I get out, I will help to convince Arthur that magic isn't evil."

Merlin's eyes widened again, "You don't believe...magic is evil?"

Arian looked torn, "Magic has been the cause of many a tragedy, Merlin...however, I had a friend once, Peter, he was a squire about four years older than me...often I was attacked by bandits or kidnapped, as I'm sure Arthur was as a child. Nothing gets higher ransom money than a first-son. Anyway, for seemingly no reason at all would go unconscious and wake up with Peter carrying me calmly, and a view of the castle in the distance. I noticed the gold flash in his eyes only once, then I asked my nursemaid why I couldn't be like Peter and have pretty eyes like the sun...she told my father and he was executed...I didn't see his burning, but I could hear his mother's wailing. Catrina let me weep in her quarters that night...a year or two after that the Great Purge finally ended."

Merlin felt even more sorry than before...he stood up and moved closer to the mirror. Noticing Arian flinch, he stepped back again, "I-I don't understand your pain, and I'm not sure I can help you...I'm not as powerful as people seem to think I am."

"But you are!" Arian's eyes widened in surprise at the manservant's doubt, "I can feel it Merlin. You shouldn't doubt yourself...will you help me? Please."

Merlin thought long and hard, maybe Arian was just another piece to this huge puzzle he'd become a part of since arriving in Camelot. But Merlin already apparently had one royal prat to deal with...two could be overwhelming. He looked at Arian's helpless gaze, Merlin saw all of it in those eyes: the pain, sadness, loneliness and the dwindling feeling of hope.

"Merlin...I can't go on like this." Arian admitted, his voice breaking.

Merlin felt his conscience tear his heart into bits, and before he could think of the consequences he nodded, "I guess I could try..."

And for some reason as he saw Arian's ecstatic grin and gleeful laughter, echoing so loudly Merlin was afraid someone would come into the room, he couldn't help but get this overwhelming sensation that something was very, very wrong.

-A/N: Dun dun dun! So, thus is the story behind the brass jokes. It's Arthur's fault.


End file.
